Oxygenates, synthesis thermochemical processes

Several different processes have been proposed for the conversion of solid organic wastes to a more usable liquid or gaseous form to be utilized as fuel or petrochemical feedstocks. Principally the commonly discussed processes involve the biological conversion to alcohols, the catalytic chemical conversion to methanol or Fischer-Tropsch liquids via a carbon monoxide and hydrogen synthesis gas, or the thermochemical formation of gases or oxygenated liquids by pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is defined as the decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures. The process to be described uses a very special case of pyrolysis. 

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